Sunday, April 01, 2007

"When Bill Balzhiser's wife recently forced him to quit smoking, she went to drastic measures. She threw out all of his cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays. She also tossed out his impressive collection of turn-of-the-century tobacco cards, a gift from his father.

So when Balzhiser found his wife doubled over in the bathroom of their rural Oklahoma home complaining of stomach cramps and the taste of tobacco in her mouth, he asked her what was wrong.

She asked him how he could have smoked for nearly 60 years, "especially those tobacco cards?" Balzhiser, horrified, realized his wife was pointing to a half-smoked Honus Wagner T206 card in the ashtray, the most valuable sports card on earth. The tragic remnants of the card-turned-cigarette are pictured below."

"Based on the appearance of the card's remnants and Mr. Balzhiser's description before he died from shock, his Wagner T206 card could have re-established the market price and far exceeded the recent sale of $2.35 million. I encourage Mr. Balzhiser's family to send us what is left for further evaluation and possible sale," said Klein, who was visibly shaken by the news.